Tide of Waves and Secrets by C.L. Mecca

What a great sequel to Whisper of War and Storms! I loved how fast-paced the story was, and it was the right combination of adventure, magic, spice, trials, and romance.

✨ Elemental Magic
✨ Prophecies
✨ Humans and Immortals
✨ Love at first sight
✨ Challenge for the throne

Nerys was a great FMC. She was brave, unprejudiced, strong, and loyal. Her character development was interesting especially because she stayed true to her goal.

As the MMC, Rowan was amazing. He was loyal to Nery and his family. His bond with his grandfather was touching. I was looking forward to his story from when he was introduced in the first book. I can say that C.L. Mecca did Rowan’s story justice.

If anything, I wish the battle with the queen and the subsequent betrayal with the pearl were made a little longer. This part of the story felt a little rushed, and everything was resolved in the background.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I am eagerly awaiting for the next one with Marek!

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this eCopy to review

I was instantly swept away into the mesmerizing world of Tide of Waves and Secrets. As the second instalment in the series, this book not only deepens the narrative established in the first volume but also introduces fresh layers of magic, intrigue, and emotional complexity that invigorate the entire saga. From the moment I turned the first page, I felt as though I had been transported to Thalassaria—a realm where elemental forces ebb and flow like the tides, and every secret hints at profound mysteries and dangers.

The story follows the enigmatic Sir Rowan, a human adventurer whose quest for the legendary Tidal Pearl leads him straight into the heart of this immortal domain. Along the way, he encounters Nerys, a devoted Thalassarian guard assigned to escort and protect him. As they journey through opulent yet treacherous palace corridors and navigate a labyrinth of shifting allegiances and ancient rituals, the tension between duty and forbidden desire simmers beneath every interaction. Their story is not just a quest for a mystical artifact—it’s a personal journey that challenges the boundaries between loyalty and the longing for something beyond the prescribed roles set by their worlds.

What truly sets Tide of Waves and Secrets apart is C.L. Mecca’s impeccable blending of high-stakes mystery with an intimate character study. The rich, immersive world-building is complemented by vividly drawn characters who evolve with each twist and turn in the plot. As political intrigue and ancient magic coalesce, I found myself reflecting on how our own desires often pull us between the demands of duty and the yearning for love and freedom.

This book is a brilliant addition to the series; it not only builds on the foundations laid in the first installment but also sets up tantalizing possibilities for the future. Every page is infused with both wonder and the promise of more secrets to uncover, leaving me eagerly anticipating the next instalment.

For me, Tide of Waves and Secrets is a masterful exploration of epic romance and adventure, richly layered with intrigue and the beautiful clash of personal passion against the backdrop of larger-than-life mythical quests.

Thank you so much to Boldwood Books & Netgalley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for honest feedback.

I did a typical Maggie and didn't realise that The Tide of Waves and Secrets was the second book in the series...oops! However, I believe this story follows different characters so you can read the second without reading the first.

The world sounds beautiful & it was definitely intriguing. It was different to anything else I have read recently which was great!

I was really excited to read this but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I like a wee bit of insta love but this was too much. A human & an immortal, instantly telling secrets and trusting each other after they literally just met? It felt a bit too soon for me.. Maybe I'm just too much of a sucker for enemies to lovers lol

It felt like there wasn't much happening to pique my interest & keep me reading, so I ended up skimming a lot, which is a shame.

I hate leaving a negative review as I completely appreciate how much time and effort goes into writing, editing, etc, but this just wasn't for me.

Loved following Rowen's journey in this. Found it very gripping, exciting and intriguing and really can't wait for more.

Oh this book. This was a book I loved reading. Tide of Waves and Secrets by C.L. Mecca is a once in a lifetime book. I LOVED IT SO MUCH! I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.

This was GOOD. I actually liked this more than the first book! At first, I was disappointed that it focused on other characters, but I loved the new storyline so much. Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Part two of the series. Rowan has been sent Maristhera to try & convince the queen to loan the humans a secret relic. It is needed to open the gate so that everyone that has been separated can return home.
Nerys has been tasked with showing Rowan around the palace but the queen really wants him watched. She didn’t expect to be attracted to him as it could never lead anywhere.
Rowan knows that he has to be careful about his true mission and about who he really is but he is finding it harder to not be honest with Nerys. He knows that he will return once he has what he needs. But will he sacrifice their happiness for a secret that spans generations?
Can he walk away from Nerys? Or will he fight for them?
A good read took me longer to find a rhythm with this one. Great to see Mev & Kael back in this one. Good storyline new characters that we need to know more about.
Solid main characters that only want what is best for their people and each other.
Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for the copy. This is my voluntary review.

Another phenomenal read from C.L. Mecca. When Sir Rowan arrives in the immortal realm of Thalassaria seeking the legendary Tidal Pearl, Thalassarian guard Nerys is assigned as his escort but the more time they spend together the harder it is to fight the attraction they feel. With more internal conflict and they loyalty is being tested while their feelings grows. This was a fantastic read.

This book was amazing. From the characters, to the storyline everything was perfect. C.L. Mecca is a name that all fantasy/romantasy readers need to add to their fave authors

Unfortunately I couldn’t get on with the writing but the book overall was a great premise. And great for fantasy readers

This novel is the second instalment of the Heirs of Elydor series. I was able to follow the plot easily without having read the first book but I would recommend following the order of the series.

The MMC, Rowan, travels to Thalassia for an audience with the Queen. As a human, he may not move around the palace without an escort. The beautiful and powerful Nerys is allocated this task. Attracted to each other from the start, their relationship grows despite the secrets they are keeping.

The couple are faced with the challenges of their responsibilities to their own people as well as Rowan’s human life span. There is also plenty of political intrigue.

The book is a quick and easy read so I didn’t get as emotionally attached to the characters as I tend to do in longer works. However, I really enjoyed the elemental magic system in this world, as well as the magical creatures.

Thank you to C.L. Mecca, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, I really enjoyed this book! I didn't even realize this was technically the second in a series until I looked it up after the fact and let me tell you, the author did a tremendous job of filling the reader in with all relevant information from the first book (most importantly, without information dumping!). I felt like I didn't miss anything at all by not having read the first book. Most importantly, I was still able to become completely immersed in the world and invested in the characters and plot. Even though I tend to not gravitate towards insta-love in stories, the way our FMC and MMC interact and develop their relationship felt so natural and the initial attraction did not overshadow the development. The book was fast-paced, the magical elements in the world were quite intriguing, and the overall plot was interesting that I kept going back for more. I'm curious enough to pick up the first book of this series at some point as well.

Thank you to NetGalley, CL Mecca, and Boldwood Books for providing me a e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Amazing second instalment in the series - although they're not directly related so it's fine to read this as a standalone.

It has the perfect blend of forbidden love and there's so much to keep the momentum going throughout this book - absolutely loved it!

a great second installment in this series! i love the way it was written - so many fantasy books are so difficult to understand or get into. i didn’t realize this book was going to be interconnected but different characters from book one and i loved that! and the descriptions of the kingdom…. i NEED to go!

This was fantastic! Forbidden love, secrets and schemes, and so much unfolding right before us. I loved this, and I cannot wait for more!

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites! This was a really fun second addition to the series, I loved the main characters and I loved the character development of everyone, including the side characters! Really enjoyed the plot and the world.

Thank you to NetGalley, CL Mecca and Boldwood Book for allowing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3⭐️/2🌶️

Tide of Waves and Secrets is a multi-POV tale that follows Rowan and Nerys. Rowan, a human entrusted with a quest to recover a lost artifact, must journey into the immortal realm. There, he’s placed under the watchful eye of Nerys, a formidable immortal tasked with guarding him as he seeks an audience with the Thalassarian Queen to gain access to the legendary Tidal Pearl.

This is book #2 in the Heirs of Elydor series; however, I did not read the first book and I don't think I missed out on much. My understanding is that the books are an interconnected series and each book follows a different set of characters. I thought this book had enough information about the world and magic to get by without having read the first.

I did love our FMC's, Nerys', journey and growth of coming into and accepting her power. I really enjoyed the magic and story in this book; however, I did think aspects of the plot and characters, especially the secondary characters, were underdeveloped. In general, I'm not a fan of instant attraction/love between main characters because it often skips over the growth and tension that make relationships feel earned, which is the case here.

I gave this book 2 chili peppers because there were several open door scenes, but they were vanilla.

I would recommend this book/series for people who enjoy insta-love or are new to fantasy as the magic and world were not very complex to grasp.

DNF

Thank you theboldbookclub and netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I am sad to write this review because I understand the time and effort and love that goes into writing a book, but as I got this arc in exchange for an honest review that is what I will give.

I really tried to finish this book and to enjoy it, but unfortunately I had to stop around 40% of the book as the story really did not capture me and the book (while written in quite easy language) was incredibly hard to read and to make sense of. This might be partly because I didn’t realise when I applied for an arc of this book that it was book 2 in a series, but as the characters of book 1 and 2 are different and there was some reflection of the events of book 1 so I don’t feel this should have been a problem in itself. The writing just was not that well and the sentences, and pacing were really off.

Then to move on to the FMC and MMC, I usually am not to bothered by this, but their relationship was so much insta love that it took my out of the story so much, what do you mean you just met and are from different clans with hesitating attitudes towards each other but are immediately head over heals attracted and trust the other so much in a way that just doesn’t make sense? And there was no side character at all that questioned this either, no they fully went with it and even exposed more secrets of the other person (without them being frustrated by it?!)

The other thing that bothered me and pushed me towards the DNF is that this book had so many cliches (and not in the good way), with the oh focus on what you can do not on what you might not, and I believe in you but do you believe in yourself too? It just was a bit to much for me.

The premises for this book is really great, and with the comparison to other great books (e.g. Fourth wing and ACOTAR) there are just a lot of promises made that this book just does and can not live up to, and maybe in that way it sat itself up for failure as well? So to conclude I think the idea for this book series is definitely there but the execution just falls short unfortunately.

Even though this was a forbidden romance, it was the setting that stole my heart! The way the author described this sandy beach kingdom was truly out of this world where the power of the sea was the heart of these people. Outstanding!

The romance was outstanding too! Loved Kael from the onset where his world was turned upside down upon meeting Nerys....in more ways than one. There's a struggle between duty and love these two will have to endure on their path to happiness.

Great story! Loved it and I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in this series. I was gifted with an ARC from Netgalley and wanted to share my thoughts.

5⭐️
2🌶️

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood books for a copy of this e-arc!

I was lucky enough to also receive an e-arc for book 1 of this series, Whispers of War and Storms, as well a few months ago and was eager to keep reading in this world!

This is the 2nd book in the Heirs of Elydor series, but follows different characters this book. Rowan, our MMC, does trickle over from book 1, as does the overall underlying plot, so I recommend reading book 1 first for solid background of the world and character motivations. Our FMC, Nerys, is new to the story but has quickly become a favorite of mine!

Our story begins with Rowan off to the clan of Thalssia to seek out the Tidal Pearl from its Queen, for its hope to help in aid to reopen the gate between this realm and the human realm. It won’t be as easy as anyone hopes though. Upon his arrival, he is immediately provided an escort for everywhere he goes. Nerys is a powerful Thalassia guard and assigned to be Rowan’s shadow during his stay. Their attraction to one another is instant but secrets that lay between them only bring heartbreak and danger to their lives. Through love and support though, can they break through the barriers that would keep them apart?

I thoroughly enjoyed book 1 and love Mev and Kael’s love story, and didn’t really think I’d like diverting away from them, but I honestly think I fell more in love with Rowan and Nerys! This book is definitely fast-paced and as with book 1, isn’t a traditional slow burn as more of an insta-attraction to lovers story. The tables are kind of turned with Nerys being the powerful one and Rowan being the “weaker” human. We also add in some side characters that I think will come into play in future books for sure!

There was more spice 🌶️ in this book than there was in book 1 which I was SO happy to see because I needed more in book 1! There was also a scene during a spicy moment that had me kicking my feet with giddiness! ❤️❤️

The book ends on a cliffhanger in a sense that it’s setting up a next book nicely. I’m hoping we can keep not only Rowan and Nerys in the next book, but round Mev and Kael back in as well! They’re all just such different characters that are fun to read about but round everything else out well I’d love to see them all together moving forward in the story!